Cable installing method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A method for installing cable in a building wherein the cable is to be pulled from a central room or closet to multiple outlets in multiple offices, the method comprising providing a spool of cable to be installed, providing a cable guide device having a plurality of apertures therein and identifying indicia thereon for identifying the apertures and corresponding to the outlets to which the cable is being installed, inserting the free end of the cable through an aperture in the cable guide device, pulling the cable through the guide member to the outlet whose identification corresponds to the identifying indicia for the opening in the cable guide member through which the cable was pulled; also a cable guide member and a cable installation cart which supports multiple spools of cable to be installed and one or more cable guide having removable indicia thereon.

This application is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No.09/333,281, filed on Jun. 15, 1999, U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,355, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference and for whichpriority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. § 120; and this application claimspriority of application No. filed in on under 35 U.S.C. § 119.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for installing cablingsuch as data cables and telephone cables. More particularly thisinvention relates to a method and apparatus which greatly facilitatesthe installation of cables in buildings.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The installation of cables in buildings such as office buildings is avery important aspect of modem building construction. With the use ofcomputers, data terminals, credit card verifiers, telecommunicationsystems, and the like being so commonplace in buildings, theinstallation of the cables needed for such systems has become anextremely important aspect of both new construction and old buildingrenovation. Modem offices often utilize duplex wall fixtures whichcontain outlets for both telephones and computer networks. And, olderbuildings which undergo renovation for new tenants, or simply undergomodernization, must have cables installed as part of the upgradingprocess in order to compete for tenants.

The installation of cables is a rather labor intensive process andordinarily requires that cables be run or “pulled” from a central closetor computer room to the locations of wall outlets. Typically, a newoffice building will have at least one, and perhaps two duplex outletson each wall. Each duplex outlet would likely have both a data cable anda voice cable pulled from a central room or closet to the outlet. Thus,in a simple office having four walls, with one outlet on each of twowalls, there would be two outlets requiring four cables to be pulledfrom the closet to the office. On a given floor in each building, theremay be any number of offices, each requiring four cables. Since it isfar easier to install the cables during the initial construction stageof a building, the tendency is to install more cables than will beneeded, in order to create flexibility into the possible layout of theoffice, especially in offices designed for high density modularfurniture.

Large spools of cables are generally placed in the central room, and thecable is generally pulled from the spools, through the ductwork or chasethrough ceiling space or raised flooring to the particular officelocation according to the building plan. Generally an installer willstart with the farthest room first and work toward the shortest pull.However, the pulling order used by the installer usually does notcoincide with the numbering order of the outlets on the plans. In otherwords, outlet number one may not necessarily be the first cable pulled.In fact, this would most likely be coincidence rather than intentional.

Once the cables are pulled, the ends of the cables in the offices arereadily recognizable by referring to the outlets, since both on theplans and on the outlets and sometimes even the walls, the outlets arenumbered for reference. This helps maintain a degree of consistency sothat one can tell which outlet in a telephone system, for example,should be wired to a particular terminal on the central telephone unit.

Unfortunately, the ends of the cables in the “computer room” or“telephone closet” are generally merely cut to a length sufficient toenable connection at any location in that room or closet, and theinstaller moves right on to the next cable pull. This leaves a largequantity of excess cable which eventually will be cut off at the properlength. However, the ends are often not marked in any way or are simplymarked with a piece of tape, so that when the telephone or computernetwork installer arrives to install the necessary hardware, he mustdetermine which end in a large bundle of taped ends is associated withwhich outlet. This is usually a trial and error step which can be verytime consuming, particularly in large closets with hundreds of cablesrunning to different offices. Thus, even when the ends of the cables aremarked in some way, the markings are often lost or mislabeled. Althougha different color cable is ordinarily used for data cables than forvoice cables, and this helps to reduce the selection process, much isleft to trial and error in the overall process. In addition, it is notunusual for the number of outlets or the numbering of the outlets tochange after plans are drawn, or even after cables are pulled, and thiscan contribute to confusion in the computer room and errors in theinstallation.

Regardless of how the cables have been pulled and identified in thepast, the hardware installer has been obliged to work with a randomarray of numbered cables, which still had to be terminated or connectedin a specific order.

Thus, a primary object of the present invention is to provide animproved method and apparatus for installing cabling in buildings.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method for installingcabling which greatly reduces the time required to properly connectcables.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method forinstalling cabling which provides a cable numbering at the closet end ofthe cables which corresponds to the numbering of the respective cableoutlets.

Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a method forinstalling cabling in a building which facilitates installation of thecables in an orderly manner.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method for installingcabling in a building in which the cables are arranged in a neat andorderly fashion, improving the appearance of the work and the laborcosts involved in the installation.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus forinstalling cabling in a building which facilitates pulling the cables ina desired sequence and enables reordering that sequence after the cableshave been pulled.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus forinstalling cabling in a building whereby cables may be pulled fromspools and numbered as they are pulled.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus fornumbering cables during installation of the cables in a building, andpermitting easy changing of the numbering after the cable has beenpulled.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus whichenables multiple cables to be pulled to different outlets simultaneouslywhile maintaining the desired numbering of the cables.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the invention when consideredwith the accompanying drawings and claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a cart forcarrying a plurality of spools of cable to be used in the cablingprocess. The cart is highly flexible, and capable of supporting thespools at different heights according to the particular cable run beingpulled. The cart is supported on wheels so as to be easily movable tosuitable locations, and the cart carries at one end a pair of verticalupright support members. At their lower ends, the upright members may beprovided with adjustable, ground engaging feet which can be lowered intocontact with the floor to stabilize the cart while the cable is beingpulled.

At the upper ends of the upright members, a height-adjustable framecarries one or more cable guide members. The cable guide members are aparticularly important part of the invention, and comprise a pluralityof strips of rigid material, such a wood, plastic, or the like which areassembled and secured together. These guide members are provided with aplurality of circular openings of a diameter slightly greater than theoutside diameter of the cable being pulled in the building. Each of theopenings in the guide member is provided with a unique identifyingindicia, for example numbers numbered sequentially, starting with 1 andcontinuing until all of the openings are numbered.

When the installer starts to pull cable to the first outlet, hedetermines the number of the outlet from the plan, and then inserts thecable into the opening numbered the same as the outlet, and then pullsthe cable through the guide member, and through the walls, chases,ducts, ceilings, etc., until reaching the desired outlet. As the cableis pulled, the spools unroll, paying out cable as needed. The remotecable end is then installed, or at least secured, at the outlet numberedaccording to the plan, and the installer returns to the closet and cutsthe cable at a point so as to leave sufficient cable to reach thedesired location in the closet. The closet end of the cable remains inthe guide member.

The process is repeated with the next piece of cable passing firstthrough the numbered opening into cable guide corresponding to thenumber of the outlet being run, and is then pulled to the next outlet tobe cabled. The process continues until all cables have been pulled fromthe cart, through the guide member to the desired outlet.

An important feature of the method is to remove the cable guide memberfrom the closet-ends of the cables, while leaving the identifyingindicia on the ends of the cables. This allows reuse of the cable guidemember in other closets or rooms, while the identification remainsintact at least until the hardware installation is completed.

According to one way of accomplishing this, the cable guide members arepreferably provided with a strong, flexible covering sheet releasablysecured to one of the faces of the guide members. This covering sheet ismade of a material such as leather, or a suitably strong syntheticmaterial, and is perforated by the same number of holes in the samelocations as in the guide member. The numerical identifying indicia forthe openings is preferably visible on both sides of the covering sheet,but the numbering sequence is reversed on opposite sides in order thatthe each opening has the same identifying number on each side of theflexible sheet.

The covering sheet is removably secured to the face of the guide memberin any well known manner, for example by a hook-and-loop fastener or areleasable adhesive. Once all of the cables have been pulled, the rigidguide member may be removed, leaving the flexible sheet in place on thecables. This provides a numerical identifying indicia for each of thecables which corresponds to the outlet numbers. The covering sheet maybe left permanently on the cables if desired, or may be removed once theinstallation of the hardware is completed and all connections have beenmade. Because of the flexibility of the covering sheet, the cables maybe tightly bundled and the bundle may be pulled through a conduit, ifneeded, with the covering sheet in place on the cables. Or, the cablemay be pulled through a wall, a cabinet, or other such structure.

In this manner, not only are the cables identified by the indicia, butthey are now also arranged in an ordered array, according to theidentifying indicia. Sometime the order will simply be 1, 2, 3, 4 . . .n wherein ‘n’ is the highest number of the indicia, but the order mayalso depend upon the particular equipment being installed, in which casethe order can be custom configured for the equipment.

In an alternative embodiment, multiple covering sheets may be used overa cable guide member, so that after the cables have been pulled, thecables may be separated into smaller groups as indicated by theparticular covering sheets. This can be particularly helpful in the caseof data cable installation for some networks.

In still another embodiment, a pair of similar guide members may bemounted side-by-side, or one above the other, on the vertical uprightmembers. One guide member can be used for data cables and the other forvoice cables. Typically, voice and data cables would be of differentcolors. In this manner, by inserting the end of a voice cable through anumbered aperture in one of the guide members, and the end of the datacable through the same numbered aperture in the other guide members, theinstaller can pull both the voice and data cable to the same outlet atthe same time. This facilitates installing both data and voice cablesinto duplex outlets, and greatly reduces the amount of time needed forsuch installations.

Of course a numbered guide member may also be used and left in place onthe cables if desired, or multiple guide members may be joined togetherduring cable pulling, and then separated into discrete groups after thecables have all been pulled.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, form a part of the present application andshow by way of non-limiting illustration, a preferred embodiment of theinvention. In these drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cart forming a part of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the general cabling layout of atypical building plan with which the present invention is used;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the cable guiding portion of the cartof FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a portion of the cableguide frame and guide members taken along lines 4—4 of FIG. 3 and viewedin the direction of the arrows;.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of one of the strips which areassembled to make the cable guide member of FIGS. 3 and 6;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of one of the cable guide members asshown in FIGS. 1 and 3; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of the flexible sheet portion of thecable guide member on a bundle of cables, and bearing identifyingnumbers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring first to FIG. 1, a cart generally designated 10 is shown, andincludes a frame 12 with a pair of axles 14 carrying wheels 16. At oneend of the frame, a pair of upright vertical standard members 18 areprovided. These standards are preferably made in multiple telescopicsections, such as the outer section 20 and inner section 22. Fastenerssuch as bolts 24 are provided and are used to secure the relativeposition of the inner sections 22 and the outer sections 20, and thusthe height of the upper end of the inner sections 22.

At the lower ends of each vertical standard member 18, an adjustablefoot 19 is provided in order to stabilize the end of the cart. The foot19 may be adjusted to a suitable distance out of the standard member 18and then secured by a bolt 21. Alternatively, the feet 19 may be onthreaded stems which screw into fittings in the lower ends of thestandards 18.

At or near the upper ends of the inner section, a cable guide membergenerally designated 26 is secured to the uprights 18, for example bybolts 28. The guide member 26 will be described in greater detail below.

A plurality of upright support members 30 are also provided on the frame12, and are generally positioned in pairs. The upper ends of the supportmembers 30 are provided with V-shaped supports 32 which are intended tosupport axles 34. The axles 34 pass through and support spools of cable36 for rotation on the axles 34. In some situations, it is desirable toprovide an addition cable guide member 38 to guide the cables as theypass from the spools. This cart enables a number of spools of cable, ofthe same or different color, to be presented for installation.

The installation of cable in a building in ordinarily done according toa plan, such as a portion of the building plan. One such plan is shownin FIG. 2 wherein typical building plan designations are used to showthe location of different aspects of the installation. Thus, a computerroom or closet is shown as 40 with cables 42 being shown running todifferent portions of the floor plan 44. The floor plan 44 shows aplurality of rooms, e.g. offices 46, and each office has a triangledesignating the location of duplex cable wall outlets 48. Each of thewall outlets 48 bears, on the plan, a numerical designation unique tothat outlet. Most commonly, the architect merely starts at one point andnumbers the outlets consecutively. The plans generally are not intendedto designate the route the cables must follow, but rather the locationof the ends.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 show in detail the construction of the cable guidemember according to the present invention. The guide member 26 issecured to and supported by the upright standards 22, and held in placeby the screw 28 threaded into the side of the guide member. The guidemember 26 comprises a plate-like member having a plurality of aperturestherein, through which the cables are inserted during the installation,with each aperture being identified by a unique identifying indicia.Preferably the guide member 26 is made of a plurality of like strips 50which, when assembled, form the guide member.

Thus, the strips 50 are assembled into the position shown in FIGS. 3 and6 and secured in that position by bolts 52 which pass through openings56 in each end of the strips 50 and wing nuts 54 . Each of the strips 50has a plurality of semi-circular cutouts 58 formed along the top andbottom edges, such that two adjacent strips form a linear array ofcircular openings 60 through which the cable passes. One way of formingthese cutouts is to assemble the strips and secure them with the screws52, and then drill a series of holes along the lines at which the stripsabut. The strips 50 may be made of any suitable material, such as wood,molded plastic, aluminum or steel. In any case, the holes are sized suchas to easily receive the particular size of cable being installed andguide the cable as it is pulled. The holes 60 may also be chamfered onone or both faces to facilitate passing the cable through the holes 60without scraping the insulation of the cable.

The strips 50 when secured by the bolts, form a rather rigid plate-likemember, through which the cables may be readily pulled. The assembly isalso bordered by upper and lower frame strips 62, 64 which help tosupport the assembly and keep it rigid. Of course the bolts 52 also passthrough these frame strips.

In a preferred embodiment, the identifying indicia is provided in aunique manner. Attached to one face of the cable guide member 26 is aflexible covering sheet 66 which also has a plurality of holes 68passing through it in alignment with the holes 60 in the guide member.The flexible covering sheet 66 may be made of any suitable flexible,sheet-like material, such as leather, thin plastic, heavy paper or thelike. Leather is preferred because of its strength and flexibilityproperties. As seen in FIG. 7, the holes 68 are each numberedconsecutively, ordinarily starting with 1 (only some of the numbersbeing shown, it being understood that each aperture is numbered). Thenumbers may be printed or embossed onto the sheet 66, depending on whatmaterial is used to make the sheet. In use, the numbers will correspondto the numbers of the outlets to which the cables are being pulled inthe building.

The covering sheet 66 may be attached to the guide member 26 by anysuitable temporary attaching technique, such as a releasable adhesive,or a sheet like fastener such as a hook-and-loop fastener of the typeknown as Velcro®, or even two-part snaps. After all of the cables havebeen pulled through the guide member, the flexible sheet 66 is removedfrom the guide member 26. Then, wingnuts 54 are removed from the bolts52 and the cables are removed from the guide member 26. The guide membermay then be completely removed from the cables, while the flexible sheet66 with the numerical indicia thereon, stays in place on the cables. Theflexible sheet may be moved downstream on the cables, toward theoutlets, or the cables may even be removed later from the flexiblesheet, after the cables have been connected to the computer or telephonehardware.

As seen in FIG. 3, two different guide members may be provided, whichhave been labeled A and B. Each of these guide members will have its ownflexible sheet with its own labeling indicia. The A guide member may beused for voice cable, for example white in color, and the B guide membermay be used for blue data cable. It is not necessary that the indicia belocated in the same place on the flexible sheet, but merely that both ofthe cables intended for outlet number 2, for example, pass through theopening in the flexible sheet numbered 2. In the event that a change ismade in the outlet numbering for one or more outlets, the cable orcables affected are simply removed from the one hole and inserted intothe hole bearing the new number. Similarly, if an additional out ofsequence numbered outlet is added to the plan, the cable is simplypulled through the appropriately numbered hole in the flexible sheet andthe guide member to the outlet.

By leaving the flexible sheet in place on the group of cables runningfrom one particular closet or room, those cables stay neatly arrangedand bundled, and retain their number. Even if the entire bundle must bepulled through a cabinet, for example, or some other structure, theflexible sheet can remain in place so that the numbering remains intact.

If it is necessary to add an additional cable or to change the number ofa cable after it has been pulled, this can be easily done by removingthe cable from the flexible sheet and inserting it into the aperturecorresponding to the new number of the outlet. Thus a great deal offlexibility in the installation is possible.

While this invention has been described as having certain preferredfeatures and embodiments, it will be understood that it is capable ofstill further variation and modification without departing from thespirit of the invention, and this application is intended to cover anyand all variations, modifications and adaptations of the invention asmay fall within the spirit of the invention and the scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:
 1. A cable guide member for aiding the installation ofcables being pulled from a central room to multiple outlets in multipleoffices, said cable guide member comprising a rigid plate-like memberhaving a plurality of apertures formed therein, said apertures being ofa diameter slightly greater that the outside diameter of the cable beinginstalled, identifying indicia on said cable guide member for each ofthe apertures in said cable guide member, said identifying indicia beingremovable from said cable guide member for identifying a cable pulledthrough the apertures in said guide member, and said cable guide memberbeing non-destructively removable from the cables after the cables havebeen installed in the apertures and pulled to the outlets.
 2. A cableguide member as in claim 1 and wherein said wherein said cable guidemember comprises a flexible sheet temporarily adhered to one face ofsaid plate-like member and having apertures formed in flexible sheetcoinciding with the apertures in said plate-like member, saididentifying indicia being located on said flexible sheet and removabletherewith from said cable guide member.
 3. A cable guide member as inclaim 2 and wherein said cable guide member comprises a plurality ofelongated rigid strips and fastener means releasably securing saidstrips in side-by-side fashion.
 4. A cable guide member as in claim 3and wherein said apertures in said cable guide member comprise aperturesformed in said rigid strips so that one half of each aperture is formedin each of two adjacent strips.
 5. A cable guide member as in claim 2and including a plurality of said cable guide members secured to a pairof upstanding support members.
 6. A cable guide member as in claim 5 andincluding a pair of height adjustable feet extending from the lower endof said support members for stabilizing a cart having said supportmembers.
 7. A cable installation cart comprising a frame, wheels formovably supporting said frame, a plurality of upstanding cable spoolsupports extending upwardly from said frame and supporting cable spoolsfor unspooling cable, a pair of vertical support members at one end ofsaid frame for supporting one or more cable guide members thereon in aposition to receive cable from the cable spools, said guide memberscomprising a plurality of apertures therein and identifying indiciathereon for identifying said apertures and corresponding to the outletsto which the cable is being installed, said identifying indicia beingcarried on a flexible sheet having a plurality of apertures throughwhich said cable passes, and said flexible sheet being removablyfastened to on face of said cable guide member.